


I hope that heaven is your resting place

by RainbowRandomness



Series: once and future love [1]
Category: Merlin (TV), The Fall (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, M/M, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-06
Updated: 2014-12-06
Packaged: 2018-02-28 10:39:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2729339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowRandomness/pseuds/RainbowRandomness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Merlin waits for Arthur to return, he joins the police service, desperate to use his gift to help whoever he can.</p><p>When he goes to the scene of a dead body, however, and turns it over to reveal a pristine Arthur, it changes everything, especially since Arthur is not only alive but doesn’t realise he’s been gone for over a thousand years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I hope that heaven is your resting place

**Author's Note:**

> prompt found [here](http://mamalaz.tumblr.com/post/104338399167/detective-merlin-arthur-reincarnation-as-merlin)
> 
> This gifset flittered across my dash the other day and I just hissed "yesssss" because it's an amazing idea and I had a sudden burst of motivation and ta-da.
> 
> The way I've left this is cruel but who knows, maybe I'll write more for this idea, if people want more anyway.
> 
> Title from _Afire Love_ by Ed Sheeran.
> 
>  **[Edit 26/01/2015:]** I wrote a fic that could probably be read as a [prequel](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3233075) to this fic but does not necessarily have to be read for either fics to make sense, ya feel? Anyway, enjoy.

He never thought this was how he would end up. When he had first began walking towards the direction of Camelot, the few belongings he had tucked away in the bag on his back, the sky clear and air fresh, he never thought this was how his life would end up. He had been so young, kissing his mother goodbye and waving to her one last time as he disappeared from sight out of his village, away from where he grew up and the people he knew, towards somewhere knew, somewhere exciting, somewhere he hoped he could fit in. He never would have guessed this was how his life would end up; realizing he was Emrys, “ _the greatest sorcerer to ever walk the earth_ ”, seeing friends, those he loved and cared for, die in battle or fade away as time went by. He never thought he would meet someone like Arthur, “ _two sides of the same coin_ ”, and grow to care about him and eventually, love him wholly as his best friend, his other half, the other side of his coin.

But out of everything, Merlin never thought that he would have to live on without Arthur by his side.

He never thought he would have to watch him die before his time, lie him carefully on a bed too bare to signify how important he was in life, how important he was in _Merlin’s_ life. He never thought he would have to send Arthur away to his final resting place, encase him in water and leave him there, alone and unmarked for others to find.

“ _The story we have been a part of will live long in the minds of men_ ” was something Kilgarrah had once said to him and he had not been wrong. Merlin just hadn’t thought he would live along with them.

-

“We’ve found a body.”

This wasn’t unusual. The officer on the other end of the phone gave Merlin the location of where they had found the body and Merlin sighed to himself before hanging up, putting his phone back into his jeans pocket as he grabbed his coat and threw it on over his jumper, shoving his hands into his pockets. He exited the police station and went to go and get into his car, wondering who the body was, what had happened to the person before they died. People being found dead in the woods was not unusual, hadn’t been in his time or any of the years after. Even to this day, people turned up dead in the woods, caked in mud and leaves, lips blue and skin sickly and pale from lack of blood flow. At least now, in this time, they could try to find out who killed them or guess as to why they killed themselves, what exactly happened to them. At least now they could try and help in some small way.

Merlin thought about this as he drove out towards the crime scene, eyes flickering over the tall trees hanging overhead. It was nearing winter and the leaves had fallen from the trees, ripped and sodden in the wet earth, sweeping across the expanse of road and sticking to his car wheels. He flicked his eyes over to the right and took in the view of the village he currently lived in; the road he was travelling along was winding along up a steep hillside, one that eventually dropped off and led into thorn bushes and more woodland below. It was a popular area for dog walkers, joggers and teenagers to drive up to the crest of the hill and “enjoy the view”. From here, driving up along the winding road that eventually lead into a gravel path, he could see the village below, all of the houses clustered together in a multitude of coloured brickwork and peeling paint. It looked beautiful at night when the streetlights lit up the streets, lights on here and there shining from windows in various homes or from shop windows further along towards the main town. In a way, it reminded him of his first night in Camelot when he had looked out of his new bedroom window and gazed at the streets below, bathed in bright moonlight, torches lit here and there as drunks fell out of the tavern laughing joyfully, various people from the castle returning home for the night, talking animatedly as they walked along the streets together.

He still preferred the view of Camelot; that had never changed.

The gravel path appeared, leading away from the main road into a side road that only took drivers so far before the clearing was revealed, the perfect spot to view the village below. It was a beautiful view, a nice place to stand although you couldn’t get too close for fear of falling down the side into the brambles and unkempt woodland below. All around the clearing was forestation, thick and rich as it tried to devour the gravel path Merlin was currently trying to drive up. It didn’t take long for him to spot other cars, some plain and others marked as police cars; he could see people up ahead dressed accordingly in their uniforms, yellow jackets a stark contrast to the dark greens and browns of the woodland around them.

He parked his car to the side and hopped out, replacing his hands in his coat pockets as he walked towards the yellow tape sectioning off the area, police officers milling around and talking in whispers. A man in his mid twenties was standing off to the side, hands in his pockets and a leash coming down from one pocket and leading down to a caramel coloured cocker spaniel at his side. A police officer was talking to him and Merlin guessed he must have been the guy to find the body. He glanced away from him and reached out to lift the tape, ducking beneath it before standing back up to come face to face with another officer.

“DS Tom Anderson?” she inquired, looking up at him, her pose matching his.

He nodded in response; he didn’t bother introducing himself as Merlin often, most people smiling and jesting about how his mother must have been a lover of the Arthurian legends. He would smile in return, a sad smile as he thought of his mother and the land he left behind long ago; it’s not as if he could tell them that he _was_ the Merlin from Arthurian legends, as if they would believe him if he told them anyway. So he usually went by different names, switching them up over the centenaries, sometimes reusing them. This name was a new one.

“Stella Gibson,” she replied, taking a hand out of her pocket to shake his in greeting. Her grip was firm and she replaced her hand within her pocket before turning to look towards where he assumed the body was.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am.”

-

Suited in white from head to toe, masks covering their mouths and purple gloves pulled onto their hands, Merlin, Stella and a team of specialists made their way up the dirt path towards where the body was lying face down on the ground.

For a moment, it felt almost as if time stopped; Merlin held back a gasp as his magic surged, roaring in his veins and seeming to beat as a heartbeat within the earth itself. The ground, the trees, the very air around him seemed to glow with golden strands as the beat rippled and then it was gone, the feeling stilled but still there, sizzling beneath his skin, waiting. He almost stopped in his tracks but didn’t, instead made himself continue forwards towards the body on the ground, even as his palms began to sweat, his breathing becoming shallow as he prepared for something unknown.

It was strange. His body was ready, preparing itself for something to happen although Merlin had no idea what he was preparing himself for. He drew closer to the body on the ground and swept his eyes up and down the length of the persons back. They were tall, presumably male going by the broad shoulders and choice in fancy dress costume; the body was dressed in the outfit of a knight, armour looking dull instead of gleaming in the pale light emitting from the cloudy sky and through the branches of the trees. The cloth on the body was red, darkened by mud, and the body was lying face down, short blonde hair covered in loose dirt, as were the brown leather boots, the soles of the shoes caked in mud and leaves.

Merlin closed his eyes for a brief moment, collecting himself; sometimes the memories he clung to from his time in Camelot, from his time with Arthur, became faded and fuzzy, almost as if he were finally forgetting them altogether. He never wanted that to happen but now the memories were bright and clear, almost overwhelming him and invading his thoughts at the sight of someone who dressed so familiarly.

But it was just another dead body. The person had probably stumbled away from a fancy dress party and something had happened to him and Merlin needed to find out what. This wasn’t the time to think of ghosts.

Kneeling down and bracing himself for what he might see, he listened as one of the fellow officers dressed in white explained to him how there were no injuries to the body found thus far. He nodded as he heard the clicks of a camera go off behind him, taking photos to use as evidence later.

“Shall we turn him over?” He heard Stella ask from his right. He flicked his eyes over to her before looking over towards the woman, Reed Smith, he thinks, on the other side of the body. She nodded her agreement and all three of them reached for him, counting to three before rolling him over to the right.

Merlin was sure his heart had stopped beating the moment he saw the persons face.

The man on the ground groaned, rolling his head to the side and scrunching up his eyes. Merlin reached up and pulled down the mask from his face, ripping the hood away next as he stared in confusion and shock. The man on the ground rolled his head again, his eyes beginning to slowly blink open as he attempted to elevate his head. He reached up behind himself to place his arm behind his head and when his eyes finally focused, he looked towards Merlin and almost seemed to smile as he groggily croaked, “Merlin?”

He didn’t know how to react and by the sound of the stunned silence of the people around him, neither did they. But what was confusing them was how this body was suddenly alive; what was confusing Merlin was how _Arthur_ was alive.

“You’re back,” he breathed at last, mouth hanging open, brows knitted together as he stared, drinking in the sight of him whole and _alive_.

This gave the man on the ground pause, his face scrunching up in confusion.

“... did I go somewhere?”

**Author's Note:**

> come follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/RainbowRandoms) and [tumblr](http://rainbow-randomness.tumblr.com/)


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